Open Letter Calls for a Six‑Month Pause on Training AI Systems More Powerful Than GPT‑4

Leading AI experts, including Nobel laureates, Turing Award winners and prominent CEOs, have jointly issued an open letter demanding a six‑month moratorium on training AI systems more capable than GPT‑4, arguing that such models pose deep risks to society and humanity.

The letter, already signed by over 1,100 individuals, asks for a transparent, verifiable pause involving all major AI labs, and calls for government intervention if the pause cannot be implemented voluntarily.

It also raises four critical questions about AI’s influence on information, automation of meaningful work, the creation of non‑human intelligences that could surpass us, and the potential loss of control over civilization.

Industry reactions highlight growing anxiety: designers report their creative jobs being displaced overnight by tools like Midjourney, while surveys show many companies claim cost savings and workforce reductions from ChatGPT adoption.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a recent interview, acknowledged AI’s emerging, inexplicable reasoning abilities and warned that AI could potentially kill humans, emphasizing the need for robust governance and safety research.

The letter concludes with concrete recommendations, including establishing a dedicated AI regulatory agency, monitoring high‑capacity AI systems, implementing watermarking for AI‑generated content, creating strong audit and certification ecosystems, and providing public funding for AI safety research.

Signatories argue that a controlled pause would allow the community to develop shared safety protocols, ensure AI systems are accurate, transparent, robust, and aligned with human values, and ultimately enable a “long AI summer” rather than an unprepared “AI autumn.”p>